Heir to Magnetism ::OR:: Enter Polaris
by Niteflite
Summary: CH 8! Both Alex (Havok) and Lorna (Polaris) try to get used to their new home and new dating situation. They begin going to the high school... RR, PWEASE! ALorna (not self-insert)
1. Chapter 1

Well, let's see. I don't own X-men: Evolution. If I did, I'd go and "get rid of" the marketing executive in charge of Yu-Gi-Oh!, make it look like an accident, and return our wayward teens to their rightful places. I also don't own Batman. And for the record, I have no idea what the time difference is between Hawaii and New York. But apparently, neither do the writers on X-men: Evo. Okay? Okay.  
  
Dedication: Do I really have to dedicate this one?  
  
Flyby Stardancer: Well, I was your editor...  
  
Niteflite: I didn't find you catching any of my continuity mess-ups.  
  
FB: Like what?  
  
NF: Like my past tense getting messed up with present tense.  
  
FB: *pause* It did?  
  
Oh well, I dedicate this to my idea-bouncer, semi-editor, and best friend, Flyby.  
  
Alex  
  
There's something almost sacred about the ocean when you surf. I can't really name it. Like when I'm just swimming, no board, it's nothing special. But give me a surfboard, and I'm out there all day. I only come out of the water when I can't see the swells at night.  
  
Didn't stay out that late today, though. I'd promised Scott I wouldn't be late for another of our weekly webcammies. Hey, it's not everyday that I get to talk to my big bro. Just happens to be every week. But I love talking to him anyway. The whole scheduling thing, though, has got to be worked out! I mean, Bayville is on the East coast of the mainland. If he lived in Alaska, it'd be so much easier than where he is now.  
  
I actually stopped surfing about four. I'd been out since dawn, and I needed to pay my adoring fans a visit before going home. I got onto the beach and there they were, lining the shore for about a mile. A crowd of bikini-clad blondes clustered around, and admired my bulging muscles, while photographers snapped my photo for the tabloids.  
  
"No pictures!"  
  
The throng now lifted me onto their shoulders, chanting, "Al-ex! Al-ex! Al-ex!"  
  
"Do you always do that?"  
  
Daydream? Every day. Why do you ask?  
  
"Wha-?" I fell back to Earth with a thud as I realized that I actually had a welcoming committee. A one-person welcoming committee, but that's better than nothing. Especially 'cause the welcoming committee was decidedly female.  
  
"Do you always surf?" She pushed a strand of hair behind one ear and waited for me to answer. Nice hair. Black, with green stripes. Pretty cool dye job.  
  
"Yeah, every day." I kind of stammered out the next part. "You- I mean, you were watching me?"  
  
She shrugged and her hair fell forward again. "For a while. You're good. At surfing, that is. My name's Lorna." I half-listened to what she was saying. I couldn't help comparing her to my blonde fantasies. Let's see, Lorna: cool hair, kinda short, fully clothed, and real. Blondes: long blond hair, really tall, string bikinis, and imaginary. Hmm... Real, imaginary, real, imaginary. Oh, I guess Lorna wins!  
  
"Alex Mast-... Summers. Alex Summers," I said, holding out my hand to shake hers. Please don't blast her, please don't blast her. She shook my hand and except for a little bit of tingling that I swallowed pretty quickly, nothing happened. "So, where you from?" Please be a tourist, I don't want to sound stupid.  
  
"Oregon. Pretty near Portland." She started walking when I did. Phew. Now I could get to the webcammie with Scott and not blow her off. "I'm here with my marching band."  
  
"School trip?" When she nodded, I figured she was on one of those 'I'm here, better make the most of it' type of trips. Wait, didn't kids on field trips have a hotel and chaperone to contend with? She really couldn't go that far away from the tourist district. "Do you have to be somewhere? Or with a chaperone?"  
  
She slapped her forehead. "Oh!" Huh. I do the same thing. Lorna turned around and waved. I guess she was waving at her chaperone 'cause some adult waved back. She pointed at her watch, then held up five fingers, and gestured at the hotel strip. I guess the guy figured out what she was doing when he gave a thumbs-up and turned away. I'm glad someone knew, 'cause I was officially weirded out, now.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Wanna go somewhere? I have to be back by five." If I hadn't been trying to act cool, I'd have slapped my forehead. Don't ask why. It's kind of a reaction thing.  
  
Whoa! Hold on a sec! "Uh, last time I was on a field trip, it was to the Honolulu Zoo, and the chap wouldn't let me out of her sight. Don't you need to...? I mean, doesn't he...?"  
  
"Nah, Jake's dad doesn't care. He kinda got roped into doing this. We tell him when we'll be back and he tells the teacher that we loved swimming." She walked a little closer to me, and I pretended that I didn't notice. I know how to play the game. "So," she said, looking kind of over her shoulder and under her eyelashes at the same time, "Where you going?"  
  
"Home," I replied, trying to look like Humphrey Bogart. Dunno who that is, but Scott says that Jean really likes it when he pulls the look. Lorna just cracked up. "Hey! I'm gonna talk with my brother Scott."  
  
Lorna considered this for a while. I could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. "Can't you talk to him anytime?" Yup, I really confused her that time.  
  
"Nah, he lives in New York. If I blow off another call, he promised to blow me up." I wish I were joking too.  
  
"If looks could kill, right?" Lorna joked, once again an inch closer. The sun must've been playing tricks with me, 'cause you know how roots show on dyed hair after a while? I kind of expected her roots to be black, 'cause that's her hair color, but they were kinda green. Like I said, some really trippy sunlight.  
  
"His can!" Did I just say that out loud? Judging from how she's now looking at me like I sprouted pink hair...yes. Gotta cover up. "Every time I do something wrong, he calls up and goes 'Alex!!!' " She cringed at my awesome Scott impression. "I swear, I've died at least five times."  
  
She giggled again. Phew. I started walking up the stairs to the apartment and she followed. "Only five? What time is he going to call?"  
  
I checked my watch. Cool watch, actually. Scott gave it to me for Christmas. It can be waterproof for up to fifty meters. Five's just enough for me. "Two minutes." I started scrambling for my keys. Lorna saw.  
  
"You've got time."  
  
"Scott is an early kind of dude." There they were! I jammed them into the door. Fit! Fit! Come on, keys! Yes! I finally turned the handle.  
  
"Run for it!" Lorna shouted. Well, at least someone's having fun. Although, I've gotta admit, I had this enormous stupid grin on my face. I ran into my room and plopped myself in front of my computer just before Scott's face popped onto the screen. I live for moments like this. So does Lorna, apparently. She slid into the room seconds after I had, laughing like a maniac.  
  
"Aloha, brahda!" It's so much fun putting on the accent for Scott. He can't stand 'em. Actually, that's pretty funny considering who he lives with.  
  
"Hey, yourself, Alex." His body language screamed, 'No more accents!!!! I've had enough!' "What've you been up to?"  
  
I leaned back in my chair. Always loved being the laid-back one. Must be the island air. "Not much. Found my fan club. Told ya I wasn't lying."  
  
Scott smirked. Yeah, that's my bro. Arrogant to a fault. "Where is it, then?"  
  
Before I could do anything, Lorna popped her face into the webcam's view. "Hello Scott. Alex Summers Fan Club present and accounted for. I've even got the official shirt." She waved one of my dirty aloha shirts like a Spanish bullfighter. Even behind those sunglasses, I knew Scott's eyes were hurting from her green stripes mixing with the orange sunset print on the shirt.  
  
"Okay, okay, I stand corrected! Does the Alex Summers Fan Club have a name, or just an acronym?"  
  
"Lorna Dane," she told him. Her voice kind of sounded like she was shaking his hand right then and there.  
  
"Scott Summers," my bro replied, somehow returning the verbal handshake. "How long have you known my little brother?" He crossed his arms, and I just knew he was scanning her for any potential harm. As if harmful mutants are obvious at first glance.  
  
But then, what about the roots of her hair? I hoped those red glasses make him colorblind! I really didn't want him spoiling my chance with the only girl with a similar sense of humor as me.  
  
"About twenty minutes." I told Scott.  
  
Lorna cut in almost immediately, saying, "More like fifteen." Scott's body language was obvious now. 'Darn, that boy moves fast.' Even in his head, Scott can't swear.  
  
"So, how's everyone over there?" I figured that it was a good idea to change the subject, and fast.  
  
Scott didn't really catch on, but he said, "Fine, everyone's fine," and launched into the latest non-powers anecdote he could think of. It was one I'd already heard last week, but Lorna enjoyed it. When Scott told me that Jean had remembered his birthday and given him a sweater, I couldn't help but make a mutant jab.  
  
"Wow, Scott, just what you wanted. It's almost as if she could read your mind!"  
  
The corners of his mouth had barely turned down when Kitty barged into his room. Both he and I winced, hoping Lorna hadn't heard the decided lack of opening and closing of any doors.  
  
'Scott, can you help me? I, like, can't get this math problem." Scott motioned to the computer with his head, frantically trying to signal to Kitty that he was busy.  
  
"He looks like a mime with a neck injury," Lorna whispered in my ear. While I was laughing at this, Kitty finally realized what Scott was throwing his neck out of alignment for.  
  
"Oh, hi Alex! How's the surf?" I shrugged. I never really clicked with Kitty. For the longest time, I thought she was from California, with the whole 'like, as if!' thing, and here she is from Illinois. Didn't really trust her from then on.  
  
She also saw Lorna, who was still holding my shirt, and wrinkled her nose. "Who's your friend?" Why'd she do that? Oh, the colors. Guess she's taking over from Jean as Color-Coordinating Critic. Color Girl, I guess. The whole Shadowcat thing never really suited her anyway.  
  
"Lorna," we all told her. Guess she was getting on a lot of people's bad sides today. She'd already made us all pretty annoyed with a few sentences. I checked my watch, hoping for something I'd put off until the last minute. 4:45. Wasn't there something I'd planned to do before five? Laundry? Nah. Oh yeah! Now I remember!  
  
"Look bro, gotta go. Lorna's gotta be back at her place by five, and I promised to take her." Okay, so I hadn't actually gotten around to promising her that, but I guess she'll have to accept my offer now. "Anyway, better go before Kurt or Jean show up." That'd get him. No one wants a blue fuzzy elf bamfing in on a conversation, and I've never been one for discretion around Jean. Maybe it's 'cause from this distance, she can't read my mind, but I'm always my most obnoxious around her.  
  
Scott nodded back. "Same time?"  
  
Time for an old TV reference that Scott won't get! "Same bat-time, same bat-channel."  
  
"What?"  
  
Does he never watch the best Batman TV show of all time? "Same time next week. Aloooooooooooooooooooha, brahda!" I waited just long enough to see him grimace before breaking off the connection. I turned to Lorna, who had a completely innocent look. Something was up. "What?"  
  
She answered, "Holy fish sticks, Batman, you watch classics too?"  
  
I grinned. How awesome is that? "Come Robin!" I whirled my whole body around since Batman can't turn his head. "To the hotel!" I grabbed her hand and whooshed out of the apartment (locking the door, of course). I didn't do all of the whooshing, though. Lorna was the one who actually said, "Whoosh!" 


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I don't own X-men: Evolution. But you knew that already, didn't you? Smart reader. I also don't own the brand name Pop-Tarts. Kellogg's owns them. I do own a couple boxes of "brown sugar and cinnamon Pop-Tarts", though. Mmmmm... I don't own Batman. I am mixing oil with water (namely, DC with Marvel), but oh well. It works. And finally, I don't own Martha Stewart. She owns me. That is why I endorse all her products fully. (Sarcasm, in case you can't tell.) And guess what? I now know that Hawaii is about five hours behind New York! Woot! Who bad? You bad! Lorna  
  
Even rushing along towards the hotel district, I got a great view of the Hawaiian sunset. This must sound corny, but the brochures were right. From any direction, the vivid colors of the blazing sun were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I leaned back for just a second to catch a glimpse of the fiery sky, and Alex noticed.  
  
"Hey, no worries. I've got this sunset timed down to the second. There's this great view," he said, speeding up, pulling me into a run. "Right." He turned onto the beach where I first saw him surf. We ran into the surf, the water lapping around our shins. "Here."  
  
The beach faced west. Oh! The sky was ablaze, with a red half-disk sinking into the blue ocean that reflected all of the activity. There were still surfers out there, that that was it. Little black figures against a beautiful fading sky. Perfect. Just perfect.  
  
Once the sky had transformed into the hazy gray-blue of twilight, I realized that I was still holding Alex's hand from our race from the Batcave. What's more, my head was leaning on his shoulder, and we probably looked pretty cozy.  
  
Too cozy, I'm betting. There's something about sunsets that maims all inhibitions.  
  
I quickly stood up straight, and started looking for Jake's dad. There he was, same place I left him, but seriously more red. He said he was coming to soak up some color, but I have a sneaking suspicion that red wasn't the color he was going for...  
  
"There's your chap," Alex said.  
  
"Yeah... It was great meeting you." I was forgetting someone. Who was I forgetting? "Oh, and your brother." For some reason, Alex's smile grew ten feet when I almost forgot Scott. I guess that's the price one pays as the younger brother. I don't see why Alex would be forgotten though. Scott is one big stick in the mud.  
  
"Yeah, it was great getting to know you too, Lorna." He rubbed his neck with his free hand. He looked like he was going to say something, so I decided to wait 'till he got up the nerve. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, five Missi- "How long are you going to stay in Oahu?"  
  
"We're leaving in two days." Let's kickstart him. I knew he's going to ask something. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, if you're not doing anything tomorrow, I could teach you how to surf." Surf? That'd be fun. I could chalk it up as another useless life skill, along with interpreting Dickens and building a park bench in a day.  
  
"I'm free. When should we meet?" Early morning? Sure. I'm an early riser. Late morning? Okay. I could look good by then. Maybe. If I get all the other girls in the band to help me get ready.  
  
"About six? And wear a sturdy swimsuit." Looked like he was really having a tough time saying the next part. "N-no-no string bikinis."  
  
I punched him on the shoulder. He deserved it. "Suck up the drool, Batman. Your fan club only wears one-pieces." Which was the truth. I owned only two swimsuits, and they were both a tourist's dream. Can't lose the top, it's connected! "If that doesn't matter," he shook his head, "it's a deal. See you here tomorrow morning."  
  
He held out his hand to shake mine. "Okay. How will I recognize you?"  
  
He's got to be kidding. I know he noticed my green hair. It's the first thing anyone ever does. I'd only started dying it with black streaks recently. Before, it was all brown. "Won't the hair be a dead giveaway?"  
  
"Not if you wear a hat."  
  
"I won't." Count on that.  
  
He let out a big breath. "Good. I like the dye job, by the way. Where'd you get the black dye?" I'm sure I looked like a great big tuna he'd just caught, with my mouth opening and closing without any sounds.  
  
How'd he know? What gave me away? I bet he hated me now that he knows I'm a mutie. Next, he'll find out that I'm a walking magnet! Great, there it goes. Now that I was thinking about magnetism, his watch is already being pulled towards me. Hope it doesn't break.  
  
"Lor! C'mon! We gotta get back to the hotel!" Who? Oh, Jake and Amy. My fellow trombone players.  
  
"Coming!" Time to say goodbye. I guess it's for the best, huh? " 'Bye, Alex. I guess it's."  
  
"See you tomorrow morning, Robin." He gave my hand one last squeeze and pecked me on the cheek. Nothing special.  
  
Nothing special?! How stupid am I? That was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done! The first guy who didn't run away after sort of figuring out that I'm a mutie! Sigh. And he's teaching me to surf tomorrow. Great big gusty sigh.  
  
"Who's that?" Hmm? Oh, Jake asked me a question. Well, in a word, Batman. Um, don't think they'll get the reference.  
  
"Alex Summers. He's going to teach me to surf tomorrow morning." Amy looked at me; I looked at her. Immediately we decided that this warranted a true celebratory screech.  
  
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Jake plugged his ears with his fingers, a little after the fact. I feel sorry for the poor guy. He really has it hard, surrounded by all us girls, no matter what he says.  
  
**  
  
Early the next morning, I got into the favorite of my two swimsuits and grab my towel. I started to leave the hotel room, but the stupid door had a mirror. I looked like a freaking grasshopper. Figures that my towel would be the same green as my suit. Maybe I could change into the other suit?  
  
I pulled it out of the suitcase. Wonder upon wonders. Green. You'd think that I liked the color. Well, I certainly didn't like the shade of that suit. It had faded to a lima bean color. That mixed with the grass on my head (some call it hair, but I know better) to create a color scheme even Martha Stewart, not to mention Kitty, would cringe at. Oh well. Guess I looked okay.  
  
I will never put a mirror near a door when I decorate.  
  
I left a note with Jake's dad telling him where I was going to be. Don't look at me like I'm not responsible. I'm the only one who does anything like that. I even left him my cell number. Like I was going to have my cell while I was surfing. Pfft.  
  
By then, it's 5:50 and time to run. I got to the beach with two minutes to spare. I'm a fast runner. No, seriously. I don't even break a sweat. I may breathe a little harder, but I never break a sweat running.  
  
Alex was waiting on the beach with two boards, one shorter than the other. "Running late?"  
  
"Why - pant - do - gasp - you - deepbreath - ask?" I asked, hands on my knees. Not like it was hard to breathe, or anything. Just catching my breath. Really.  
  
Alex grinned. Well, at least someone is having a good time. "Well, are you ready to surf?" He took off his aloha shirt (what they call Hawaiian shirts in Hawaii) and put it into his canvas bag. I know I saw him in the same get-up yesterday, but that view never gets old. I wiped the drool off of my chin and took off my shirt and shorts, revealing my swimsuit.  
  
As I followed his example, stuffing everything in my backpack, I saw his eyes bug out of his head. Oh come on. He can't be so desperate as to find me attractive.  
  
We started the lesson with paddling, Alex on the short board and me on the long board. It took me a couple of tries, but I got it pretty quickly. Alex handed me my backpack and placed his big in front of him, and we paddled out to this surfer spot that can be reached by surfboard, and...that's about it. Whatever, the surfers have claimed it, or so Alex tells me. It seems pretty deserted to me.  
  
After we dropped our stuff off, it was time to surf! Or drown, to be technical. He kept on telling me that I'm doing great for a first-timer, that he couldn't even catch a wave on his first time on a board.  
  
Of course, his first time on a board was in preschool.  
  
While we straddled our boards about two hours into my voluntary torture, my stomach decided to speak out loudly and without abandon.  
  
"Did you eat breakfast?" Wow, Batman doesn't miss a trick, does he?  
  
"If I said no, would you happen to have food ready?"  
  
"Yeah, let's paddle in." We headed to Non-Existent Surfer's Cove as I've started to call it, and believe it or not, there were still no surfers! Wow.  
  
Alex dug into his sack and pulled out two packs of Pop-Tarts. Gotta love them. He started handing me one of the packs when that hand started jerking around and ended up pointing behind me. Now that's a cruel joke.  
  
Wait, there's something wrong with his hand. Almost like strings on a puppet, and all the strings were connected to...his watch? I've messed with his watch once before on accident, but that wasn't me, now.  
  
"I see that you recognize the power of magnetism, Polaris." I whirled around to see some strange man with a bucket on his head step out of the shadows, holding his hands out to us like some devil-savior.  
  
Alex muttered, "Magneto." Magneto? What sort of name is that? For that matter, what kind of name is Polaris?  
  
'Ah, Havok, I must say, I'm not surprised to se you harboring a fellow mutant, but she is my priority now." He was looking at Alex when he said Havok. Is it some sort of nickname? A codename? And what did he mean by 'fellow mutant'? Alex isn't a mutant...is he?  
  
This freak now turned to me, and acted like he's the answer to all my prayers. Like he knows what I pray for. "Lorna, I know of your mutant powers. I too, share those gifts." I suppose he meant the gift of being a living refrigerator magnet. Woo, metal things stick to him too. I'm so impressed.  
  
"I am here to teach you to control your powers." I seriously began to back up from this guy. I could handle them all these years, keep them secret. Why not keep on like that?  
  
"I can teach you, my dear, not only to control simple metal objects, but I can teach you to manipulate the magnetic field of the Earth itself!" I sensed him reaching out with his powers, digging into the core of the Earth. He used the waves coming from the center to propel himself up, floating a foot above the ground. I'd thought that it might be possible in theory, but to see someone fly right in front of you...  
  
He must have seen me step back, because he releases his grip on the magnetic waves, sinking to the ground again. "Lorna, you can trust me." Now where did I hear that before? Oh yeah. My last foster home. That one lasted all of two months.  
  
"I will be your mentor." This man controlled magnetism as if it was simply another manner of breathing. Maybe I could learn something without getting caught up.  
  
"You will be my heir, Polaris."  
  
Hold on! That's a little fast!  
  
This bright blast came to my rescue, knocking 'the great Magneto' off of his feet. For the master of magnetism, he sure can't land gracefully. "Lorna has her own life, Magneto. She doesn't need yours!" Alex stood with smoking hands. Wait- smoking hands? He shoots blasts of...whatever? Energy? But he's so normal! He can't be a mutant, right?  
  
That gene runs in the family, right? I heard that on TV somewhere. Could that be why Scott wore those weird shades? What was he hiding under those? This is all too much. I need some alone time.  
  
Magneto treated me to a sickly-sweet fatherly look. I wanted to look away from his face, but it was like a train wreck, too terrible to look away from. "Let's let her decide that."  
  
Now I know why I didn't trust him from the beginning. Okay, there was that whole breaking in on privacy thing, but this is more important.  
  
He was trying too hard to be kind. It wasn't in his nature; I could just tell by the way he looks down his nose at me. It's as if he's bestowing a gift on me, but he doesn't believe I deserve it. I am no disciple to his Jesus. Wouldn't he be afraid I'd become a traitor once I've learned all I need to know? He probably thought he would have had ample time to bend me to his cause.  
  
And Alex? He didn't lie to me. I never asked him if he was a mutant outright, I just assumed he wasn't. If he was an example of the opposition, then viva la resistance.  
  
"Magneto..." I reached out my hand to him, feeling the metals in his body armor, the caress of the slightest trace of metals in the soil, the radiating waves from the core. "I can teach myself!" All the power I had allowed to seep through me became a repellant force, sending him flying back into the sphere that he came in. The second one continued to remain empty, because I certainly wasn't getting in.  
  
"You think this is done?" Magneto said, pushing himself up. Well, I did, up until you pushed yourself up like that...  
  
Alex punched forward both fists, and a blinding blast came shooting out. That must have been his full power, because it seemed to take almost as much out of him as it did Magneto, who passed out under the force. "For now." Oh! That's a good answer. He turned to me and pointed at Magneto, comfortably slumped over. "Those containers can close, and they're all metal..."  
  
"Right." This I can handle. I hope. I concentrated, feeling the alloy, deciding what magnetic mechanism could close them. In the instant that I felt what parts to fill with opposite charges, the spheres slammed closed. Well that part's done. But how did I make them fly across the sky? I experimented, trying to lift them, anything. "They're closed, but I can't move them. I'm not strong enough."  
  
"Then we'd better get outta here." Alex pulled out a pen-communicator thingy. "And when I say outta here, I mean outta Hawaii." He turned the mike on and said, "Hello? Professor Xavier? This is Alex." He paused and looked from me to the spheres. "I'm ready to join."  
  
The speaker replied after a while in a clipped, educated voice, "Wonderful, Alex. I'll come with Scott to pick you up."  
  
Alex kept his gaze directed towards the metal spheres. "Could you hurry? We'll be on the west coast of Oahu, with two big shiny objects."  
  
There was a slightly longer pause before Professor Xavier said "We will see you soon." I have a feeling that not all that pause was time lapse, either. 


	3. Chapter 3

Here we go, the disclaimer that tells you all of my pop trivia. I don't own X-men: Evolution, the historical account of the Donner Party (look it up), Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or Frosted Mini Wheats. Well, actually, I own a box of Rice Krispies right now because they have those bobble head things, but I sure as heck don't own the name. That's copyright infringement, and that's wrong. Bad Niteflite! Go stand in a corner! Alex  
  
About fifteen minutes after I called the Professor, this big swooshing sound announced the arrival of the Blackbird. I'd only seen it once or twice before, but in order to look like I know what I'm doing I play it cool. Of course, that act isn't helped when I keep checking the little pod dealies every fifteen seconds to make sure Magneto hasn't woken up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lorna look up at the jet, and her jaw drops. Seeing what she learned today, I'm surprised she wasn't in shock.  
  
"You said they're from New York?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Wow. Fast plane."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The jet got close enough so that I could see a bit of blue and red at the controls. C'mon, Kurt's flying? As if Lorna wasn't already in shock because of Magneto and me and probably Scott, they're figuring 'let's go the whole nine yards with the mutant look'. The Blackbird landed vertically in the cove, leaving about five feet all around. Well, Kurt is great at parking the big plane, I guess.  
  
I sauntered up towards the lowering ramp and hollered, "What took you so long?" I looked around to gloat at Lorna, but she was hanging back, taking it all in. Guess I can't blame her.  
  
Scott jogged down, decked out in the full spandex and visor regalia. Okay, you don't need to frighten the bejeezus out of her, bro. Whatever happened to recruiting in civilian clothes? "Hey, I was in school, Alex!" Right. And you're always in school with the X-men outfit on. Ten to one that Scott was in the Danger Room.  
  
Kurt bamfed to the ground, blue and fuzzy. Well, this day keeps on getting better and better, doesn't it? "C'mon, Scott, you can't complain. Ve're in Havaii! It's a cosmic rule or somezing zat you have to be laid back."  
  
Lorna started stepping out of the shadows. Good girl. Talk to them before some other genius leaves the plane. She didn't really have the guys' attention though. I gave her some moral support with a little cheerful wave. Sure it's more disgruntled than my usual, but we'll say semi- cheerful, okay?  
  
"Blue?" she asked Kurt. He practically jumped out of his skin at being seen. "I thought green hair was hard to hide. How do you go out in public?"  
  
"Umm, my image inducer. He pressed the button on his watch, became this short kid with black hair, and pressed it again, turning back into the blue demon. Personally, I'm more comfortable with him blue. I feel like he's more wild and free then. "I know, you can't resist ze fuzzy man. Sorry, I'm taken."  
  
"So'm I." What? She's taken? But she was flirting with me! I think...  
  
Kurt brushed over this and realized the important part in Lorna's comment. "Vait, your hair is naturally green?"  
  
"Yeah. See the roots?" She pointed at the part in her hair, which, now that I wasn't looking for black, was so obviously green. I guess it's just that I was looking too hard for normality that I saw only what I wanted to.  
  
Whoa. Am I philosophical or what?  
  
Just at the moment when we all had this mutant teen bonding thing, and Lorna seemed to be fitting in as 'one of the guys', the Professor rolled down the ramp. Dun-dun-duhhhhhhn! He took one look at Lorna and us guys, raised an eyebrow, and did a mind-talk thingy at me. Not with. At.  
  
Alex, who is that?  
  
Lorna Dane.  
  
And why is she here? I assume you want me to attempt at recruiting her.  
  
Nah, just protect her. She's a mutant with green hair and the power of magnetism. Magneto showed up this morning and he tried to take her with him, but we both knocked him out. He's in that sphere over there. He thinks that just because she has the same powers as him, she'd be his heir. Kinda like Jean is to you.  
  
Jean?  
  
Yeah. You know, she's got powers that may someday be exactly the same as Magneto's, and Jean's power works the same way with yours.  
  
Ah, I see. And the Prof rolled his way towards us all. "Cyclops, perhaps we all should be going. I've been told that Magneto resides in those spheres over there, and that it is in our best interests to keep Miss Dane away from him." Okay, he just make all the fighting Lorna and I did before he got here sound like afternoon tea. How does he do that?  
  
"Wait!" All of us turned towards Lorna, who had her hands up. "I need permission from my teacher to leave this city, and I need permission from my foster parents to leave the state of Oregon!"  
  
Xavier gestured towards the jet. "Then let's go obtain permission."  
  
**  
  
We were over Idaho when Lorna asked the twenty million dollar question. "How did you do that?"  
  
"Do what, Lorna?" Now we're over South Dakota.  
  
"Talk my teacher into letting me leave Hawaii and her custody with complete strangers, half of whom I only met yesterday, and the other half thirty minutes ago. Then, talking my foster parents into placing me into your custody for the remainder of the school year, when I had to beg them for a year to let me go on this Hawaii trip. And I've only lived with them for three months!" Michigan, now.  
  
"I'm very...persuasive...when need be." Lake Erie.  
  
"No kidding." Whoa! We were landing. This jet is fast, I'm telling you. Forget eighty days, this baby can make it around the world in eighty minutes.  
  
When we finally made it all the way into the cliff hangar, there was a welcoming committee. For Scott.  
  
"Scott! Where were you?" Jean ran into his waiting arms the moment that he got off the ramp. "Hawaii? And Alex is here too? Great!" Well, obviously she has no scruples whatsoever about reading minds.  
  
"Hey, Jean. How's Duncan?" Okay, I know. Break up their love-fest. But if I don't get a moment like this, they don't.  
  
Scott grinned sheepishly and started to let go of Jean, but she gracefully laced her fingers behind his neck and stated, "Dumped."  
  
Just then, Lorna walked out of the jet and waved 'hello' at Jean. "Hi, Jean. I've heard so much about you."  
  
Jean arched an eyebrow. Even when she's being snooty, she does it perfectly. "Who are you?"  
  
"Alex's groupie," Lorna said with a straight face. Jean's other eyebrow shot up in surprise.  
  
Scott stepped in, setting everything straight like a good leader. "This is Lorna, the girl I told you about yesterday." Jean's first eyebrow went down, and I figured that she didn't really approve of this 'Lorna' creature. It takes sheer talent to convey so many snotty opinions, just with the eyebrows.  
  
Lorna pointed casually at Jean. "Love the hair. Is it natural?" Well, she pointed casually, but she was probably sizing up Scott's girlfriend. Her eyes had this 'I'm going to kill you if you make any wrong moves' glint.  
  
Jean remained draped around Scott as she replied, "Yes. Is yours?" Her look simply said, 'After you'.  
  
Lorna fingered a green forelock. "Only the green." Before they could continue their...um...sizing up, this guy comes running into the hangar tugging on a uniform boot.  
  
"Hey, you've already left? Come on!" He ran up to Kurt and popped his fist on the elf's shoulder. "You said I could fly next time!"  
  
"I remember saying 'next time zere is no emergency'. Zis vas an emergency!" Kurt said, porting out of the way of another hit on the shoulder.  
  
The brown-haired kid looked Lorna and me up and down, like he owned the place. Ha! "Since when was picking up beach bums an emergency?" Beach bums? Where does he get that? I changed out of my swim trunks in the jet, and Lorna changed into a t-shirt and shorts at her house! Scott caught my eye, and brought his foot up to tap his sole with his hand.  
  
I looked down. Well, I am barefoot. But what does a shoe have that a sand- covered foot doesn't, huh? Oh, wait... Ohhhhh. Well, he still doesn't have the right to call me an "emergency" complete with air-quotes.  
  
"Look, dude, I'm Alex Summers, this is Lorna Dane, we're both tired, ticked- off mutants. We just finished fighting Magneto who, oh, by the way, was going to kidnap her! I think that could maybe pass for emergency in my brother's- Scott's -opinion!" Okay, maybe a bit rough on the kid, but I was hungry, and I was still recovering from that big blast I gave Magneto. Not like it was easy.  
  
This recognizing look came onto the guy's face. "Oh, you're Alex!" Duh. "The name's Bobby. Look, don't hurt me, I'm cool." To prove it, he immediately covered himself with a sheet of ice. Aha. Iceman. Makes sense, I guess.  
  
Lorna cleared her throat from right next to me. Guess she snuck up on me. "I hate to break this up, but I need to be shown the kitchen before I go all Donner party on you people. I haven't had breakfast."  
  
Bobby looked very confused. "Breakfast was this morning. It's two o'clock."  
  
Kurt bamfed next to him and muttered, "Havaii." He even threw in a mock- hula. It was wrong on so many levels...  
  
Iceman still didn't get it, so I explained it, although not quite in his language. "The sun is just coming up over the magical islands of pineapples and volcanoes." From his blank look, I gathered that I would have to talk caveman. "Hawaii: morning. Me from Hawaii. Me: hungry. Me like to eat Popsicles." Bobby jumped a mile and set up an ice-slide thing in midair.  
  
"Uh... Follow me." He swooshed off, and Lorna and I just kind of stood there, not being able to move quite that fast, considering.  
  
Kurt grinned. "I'll show you. Anyvay, I know a shortcut." He placed a hand on each of our shoulders and bamfed us into the kitchen. How did I know it was a kitchen, you may ask? Elementary, my dear Watson. The fridge gave it away.  
  
Kurt pointed at various cabinets saying, "Zere's vhere ve keep ze cereal. Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and Frosted Mini Vheats have enough for at least one bowl. Ze rest are decoys." Ah, people empty the boxes, then put them back on the shelf. My kind of people. "Zere's enough milk in ze fridge, just don't pour from any vith names on zem. Zey drink straight from zem." Well, at least we had the kitchen connoisseur showing us around. Food was the only thing I could manage right at the moment.  
  
Lorna grabbed some Cheerios while I snagged the box of Rice Krispies. She poured the box into a bowl and poured some milk on it. She didn't pour much, and I gathered that there wasn't much milk left. So, I decided to improvise.  
  
"Hey, Lorna, check this out." When I had her attention, I got the cranberry juice out of the fridge, checked for a name, and then poured it onto my Rice Krispies. She made a kind of 'eew' face. Well, I really can't blame her, but this is the best way to eat my Snap, Crackle and Pop. "Before you say yuck, try it." She carefully stuck her spoon in, scooped up some cereal, and popped it in her mouth.  
  
This surprised look came onto her face. I hope that's good. She smiled as she took her spoon out of her mouth, and waved the hand with the spoon. It stuck to her palm.  
  
There was no humor whatsoever in her being a walking magnet. Really. So we cracked up. I think the stress from the morning had gotten to us. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own X-men: Evolution. Yet. Just watch. I also don't own Frisbee. Well, I do own Frisbees, a lot of them (too many), but it's the same as Rice Krispies. I don't own the name.  
  
Lorna  
  
After we finished our breakfast, Alex and I decided to explore. First, we tried to find our way out of the building. Alex mentioned something about needing to see the sun. I wouldn't have minded seeing the place from the outside. So, we set out, and after about fifteen minutes, found the back door.  
  
Alex ran outside and simply stood in the sun. I walked up behind him. "What are you doing?"  
  
He tilted his head back, and answered, "Soaking up energy. The sun is the best source for that."  
  
"Oh." I sat down under a tree nearby. The afternoon sun wasn't nearly as hot as in Hawaii, but it was worse than my home state of Oregon. "So, you're a mutant." I took a paperclip out of my pocket. I carry at least one all the time. For the longest time, I didn't know why, either.  
  
"Yeah." Alex laid down, his eyes in the shade, the rest of him in the sun. "Sorry I didn't tell you." And why should he be sorry? Not like you have to tell everyone you walk up to, 'Hi, I'm a mutant. Shun me at your leisure.'  
  
"I didn't ask you." I tested the metal inside the paperclip, and repelled it a bit. It floated above my palm. "Well, now you know I am a walking magnet, and I know you shoot energy from your hands. Anything else I need to know?"  
  
"I'm single." He looked back at me, his eyes looking a little too much like puppy dog eyes.  
  
"Desperate, you mean." Come on, the guy leaves Hawaii, of all places, to make sure that Magneto jerk doesn't get me. Me! I'd call that a little desperate. I changed the polarity in my palm quickly, making the paperclip spin.  
  
"Because I'm the wonderful guy that I am, I'm not going to dignify that with a response." I chuckled at that, and started floating the paperclip carefully over the ground, using the waves of magnetism to repel it. "Instead, I'm going to tell you that my brother, Scott, shoots laser beams of death out of his eyes. That's why he wears the red sunglasses. For some weird scientific reason, the red glasses block the eye beams." Huh. Would never have considered that. "Also, my parents in Hawaii are not his parents. Our real parents died in a plane crash. Mom and Dad adopted me, and didn't even know I had a brother."  
  
So, Alex and I have more in common than I thought. But he really was luckier. He was young enough to be acceptable for adoption. Me? My parents got in a car crash when I was ten, and I've bounced from orphanage to foster home for years now. No one wants to adopt a green-haired kid.  
  
"I guess I'd better tell you some of my life story too, huh?" He nodded, his eyes following the paperclip that I was dancing around on the grass. "My hair was always green. Of course, the doctors didn't know that, because I was born with no hair. But sure enough, this grass started to grow on my head." Alex nodded, a little grin on his face. "First, my parents tried hats. But then, my first doctor's appointment came. So, they dyed my hair brown. That's all I can remember for the longest time: my mom dying my hair. When I turned nine, she showed me how to dye my own hair, and I took over. By the time I was ten, they...weren't around anymore."  
  
My paperclip dropped, and Alex flipped himself over onto his stomach. He just looked at me, and I knew that he didn't pity me, like anyone else would. He didn't need to. "All of us are far from our parents, here. We orphans simply are a bit farther away from ours than others." He grinned at me, and I smiled back. It was a watery smile, but still, it was genuine. Not like the fake smiles I always gave the social workers when they asked, 'Are you adjusting, Lorna?'  
  
"Thanks." I looked across the field at some bursts of sound and light. Were those actually people? "Can I ask something?" He nodded, and I went completely on my own tangent. "Do you know anything about anyone else? Other than Scott, I mean."  
  
Alex shrugged. "Not much. I know all about Jean, 'cause Scott rarely talks about anything else..." I motioned for him to continue. I only knew that she was perfect. Scott talks a lot when he flies. "She's got telekinetic and telepathic powers, like Professor Xavier. She's also the most normal student here. She was MVP for her soccer team for a while."  
  
"And, of course, she's perfect..." I said. I couldn't help it. This little piece inside me was jealous of how her life seemed to work out for her. She had everything she'd ever needed.  
  
Alex shook his head. "She isn't. Scott told me that she's afraid of clowns. When they went to the carnival one time, she almost freaked out." Well, I think I just found my Halloween costume!  
  
On the same lawn, this kid was playing Frisbee with a, for lack of a better word, dog. It looked more like a wolf, but that's the first time I've ever seen a wolf in a domestic place, or playing catch with a twelve-year-old boy. He threw the Frisbee in our direction, and the wolf made a flying leap, caught it, and was on a path to collide with us. I don't know about Alex, but I was not about to be mauled by a domesticated wolf, no matter how tame it was. I scrambled more into the shade of the tree, away from the claws and teeth. Alex just sat up. I guess his mutant associations have destroyed his fear drive. When your brother can shoot lasers out of his eyes, you've seen it all.  
  
The wolf landed near Alex's feet, and cocked its head at what it saw. I swear, it was trying to remember us. Don't ask why, but I guess it was because of the body language. It dropped its Frisbee, and...um...stood up.  
  
The wolf turned into a little girl. Well, not little, she looked like an average girl, but I was not expecting a WEREWOLF in this place. I think that nothing would surprise me now. First Kurt, then this girl. I bet there's a kid who glows with radiation, too.  
  
"Who're yeh?" she asked. She has an accent, Kurt has an accent, I think there's a pattern here. Welcome to International Mutant High! Have an accent? Shunned by your neighbors? Come on down!  
  
"Alex Summers. Are you Rahne Sinclair?" How could he know her name? He turned to face me for a moment, and indicated his eyes. Oh. I guess Scott told him about wolf-girl.  
  
Rahne's face lit up. Her expression could change so quickly. "Ah! Yer Scott's little surfing brother. Yer actually here t'stay?" Alex nodded, and she called out, "Look! Jamie! It's Scott's brother! And-"  
  
I quickly supplied my name, nice and loud for Jamie. "Lorna Dane! New kid!" He came running across the lawn, and caught his foot on some unseen hole in the grass about two yards away from us. Well, maybe it was just on his own ankle. Whatever, he fell forward. I didn't think, just jumped up and ran to catch him.  
  
Which him? There were probably about four Jamies on the ground. I stood over all of them, reaching out a hand to help one up, changing my mind, then tried to help another one. Eventually, I wasn't able to help any of them up, and they all kind of dissolved into one another.  
  
Jamie picked his single self up, now, and looked at me. I should remember this. Don't hit Jamie. Okaaaaaaaaay...stored. File under "warnings". "Are you the new mutant?"  
  
News travels that fast? Well, they are teenagers, and guys are the biggest gossips. I'm surprised it didn't reach Rahne. "Yeah."  
  
He squinted at me, and I felt like an animal at the Humane Society. See? Lookit! I'm friendly! Pick me for a friend! Pleeeeeze? "Neat hair. Is it really that color?" Well, that was a complete one-eighty. I guess when you're twelve, you don't bother with the usual openings. 'How are you?' 'Fine.' 'Strange weather we've been having.' 'Yup.' 'Your hair is weird.' 'Huh?'  
  
"Well, I dye it. It's really all green." When his eyes bugged out of his head, I decided to take this normal response one step further. "I've been thinking of letting it grow out all green."  
  
"Whoa! That'd be sooo cool! You should do that! You really really should do that!" Ohhh-kaaay...hope he doesn't blow a blood vessel with that...  
  
Alex stood up and waved at Jamie, who asked him, "Don't you think it'd be cool if she had all green hair?" When he nodded, Jamie suddenly shifted his focus onto Alex. "You're the surfing Summers?"  
  
I guess he was not really willing to be the center of attention, because he just nodded again. I decided to help him, and take the attention off of my hair at the same time. "He's just modest. I've actually seen him surf, and he rocks." Alex held his hands up in a 'Stop, please. No more!' sort of position. I shrugged at him, and continued, "He tried teaching me to surf, but we were kind of sidetracked from our lesson."  
  
Jamie's jaw hit the ground, and Rahne said, "Should this be something Scott should know?"  
  
Jamie recovered, and clamped his hands to his ears. "I'm not hearing this! I'm not hearing this!"  
  
"No, no, no!" I reached over to Jamie and took his hands off of his ears. "The X-jet showed up, and we were kind of recruited." Alex let loose this little gust of air. You'd think that he was afraid I'd mention Magneto to these kids. Well, time for another shift in the conversation. "How did you two get recruited?"  
  
Rahne grinned, bearing fangs that were a shade too long for polite society. "Moira, me foster mum, knows Professor Xavier. She gave me the choice of staying here." Chalk up another kid with foster parents. Somehow, though, I think that she likes Moira better than I ever liked my own foster parents.  
  
Jamie rubbed his eye, and said nonchalantly, "I, well, ran into some bleachers at school during gym and met me... times ten. Next thing I know, Professor X was on my front thingy." He waved his hand in the air, searching for the word. "Umm...what is that? The thing in front of your door? That thing with a deck, that's not a deck... You know..."  
  
All of us other three shrugged.  
  
Rahne started to say something, but she stopped immediately when a blond guy barreled into the ground. No, really. Headfirst. He stood up, shook his wooziness out, and waved a little 'hello' to all of us. I saw her cheer up immediately out of the corner of my eye.  
  
"Hey, Rahne, Logan is gonna let us all go to the mall in the X-van. He's even letting Bobby drive." He started gearing up for another round of that crazy pinball, when he turned back to Rahne. "Ah can cannonball ya there if ya want ta go." Rahne practically leaped into his arms. When she was cozily situated, they took off. I sense a budding romance somewhere!  
  
Jamie looked at Alex, back at the fireball, and ran after them, yelling, "Hey! Wait for me!"  
  
Huh. Weird kid. I turned to Alex to comment on him, but I kind of forgot what I was going to say. He was just looking at me in this weird way.  
  
"Did you mean that?" Umm...  
  
"Did I mean what?" So I restated what he had said. It's a valid question. And I didn't know at all what he was asking.  
  
"When you told Jamie that you were growing out your hair. Well?"  
  
Huh. I really hadn't been thinking about any of that. I'd just said that to get a reaction. But now that I think about it... "Well, maybe. I'd have to see how it goes. Why?"  
  
Suddenly, he seemed to find the tops of his feet fascinating, and mumbled, "Mm mnk mn'd mmk mmmmm mn ymm." Well, that was very informative.  
  
"What?" Poke, poke, prod...  
  
He turned two shades of red and said (barely audibly), "I think it'd look good on you." He studied his sand-covered feet again, and I- I don't know what I did. Did he just complement me? Did he just complement my hair? Here he was, blushing. I put my hand up to my cheek and knew I was blushing too.  
  
I guess I had been hasty when I teased Rahne in my head. Talking to Alex is suddenly intensely difficult after two days of easy chatter. What changed? Our conversation had been a lot more serious before, and I think neither of us had any trouble talking...  
  
Gotta get out of here, give myself space to think! "Yeah? Um... I have to ask around, find my room... Haven't even seen it yet, y'know?"  
  
"Yeah," Alex agreed, nervously rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. He looked so much like a lost puppy right then that I wanted to comfort him, somehow. Stay away. Danger! Danger, Will Robinson! "I need to find mine, too. See you at dinner?"  
  
"Yeah." I found the closest door, turned the handle, and opened it, all before I got to it. I could get used to showcasing my powers. Can I get used to Alex?  
  
I looked back at him, still standing in the shadow of the tree.  
  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!  
  
A/N: Okay, I guess I might have left you hanging there. But I've been begged for cuteness, and I didn't feel that either character was really ready for too much cuteness. They've only known each other for two days, for Pete's sake.  
  
Flyby Stardancer: Ooh! My best buddy, I'm so glad you like it. See? I didn't tell you all of this chappy. I felt like you needed a bit of a surprise! Woot!  
  
Suzaka: *sniff* Thanky muchly! Hope you didn't suffer too much brain damage. Enjoy!  
  
Piers: Hmmmm... I wonder who you are... Thank you, dear. I'm glad you like the Magneto stuff. I think I'll include the whole Magneto kicks their butts thing. Love you.  
  
And, since I'm just that kind of person, I'm going to share what I learned from my name book:  
  
Lorna: A short form of Lorena/ Lorena: A feminine form of Lawrence, "the laurel" (Latin)  
  
Alex: (Alexander) "Helper of mankind" (Greek). A name made famous by the conqueror Alexander the Great.  
  
Jamie: (James) "The supplanter" (Hebrew). Originally a form of Jacob. One of the disciples and an apostle. St. James the Apostle is the patron saint of Spain.  
  
Sam: (Samuel) "Asked of God" (Hebrew) -OR- (Samson) "Like the sun, or resplendent" (Hebrew); but suggesting "strength" from Samson, the strong man of the Bible.  
  
Couldn't find Rahne. It's just too cool of a name. Looks like these characters weren't chosen for their names' meanings. Or were they? Hmm... It is something to be pondered... I want to interpret the other names as they show up. Is that okay with you? Well, too bad! I stick my tongue out at you! Pbbbblttt!!! *spit* *splatter* 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own it. What is 'it', you may ask? Why, none other than X-men: Evolution. Nor do I own the Three Stooges, The Starving Musician (a music store in my area), the saying "Play an Accordion, Go to Jail: It's the Law!" (Really! Not mine!), "Pearly Shells", "Tiny Bubbles", Don Ho, or Jango Fett. What? I don't mention him in my fic? Well, that's too bad. He rocks.  
  
Alex  
  
Everything Lorna said made sense. I mean, we did need to find our rooms in the Institute. That was obvious, right? Right.  
  
But then... Why can't I understand how she looked at me? She just looked at me, and it was like she was talking on another level. It didn't even look like she knew what level she was thinking on.  
  
What did I say I was going to do? Oh yeah. Find my room. Well, to do that, I think I'd better ask the boss. And you know what that means.  
  
Yup. Go find Scott and avoid the Professor at all costs. I set out to find my sunglasses-wearing brother, basically by asking directions to the Danger Room, and, just in case, Jean's room.  
  
I got a lot of different directions, but I decided to listen to this one guy, Logan, first. Really, the only reason I did that was because they were one direction, and he looked like he was going to kill me.  
  
Scare tactics work on me.  
  
Once I had followed his direction, "Go down to the basement, bub. It's there," I saw that I had followed the right guy's directions. There were two doors there. One to the hangar, and the other was made of reinforced steel and had this red-lighted sign above it.  
  
"DANGER ROOM IN USE. DO NOT DISTURB." I don't think it can get any more obvious. This is the bathroom.  
  
I stepped back and studied the door again. All metal, with this cool 'X' all over it. I bet Lorna would love it.  
  
Whoo... that kind of slipped out. She's not on my mind all of the time. Really. Just a simple slip-up. It could happen to anyone.  
  
"What could?" What the? I whipped around to see Jean comfortably invading my personal thoughts. Did I mention I hate telepaths? 'Cause I reeeeeeally hate telepaths.  
  
"Nothing." Think of something to block her. Sheep! Flaming sheep jumping over a cliff like lemmings! See them jump. Die, sheep, die! Good. My future sister-in-law is looking thoroughly confused. Just how I like it. "I was wondering if Scott could show me where my room is going to be."  
  
Scott came out of the Danger Room, then, probably because Jean had called him. Odds are five to one that she mentally e-mailed him. Any takers? "What, Jean?" Whoo! I rock!  
  
"Aloha, brahda." He winced. This accent thing never gets old! "I need to find my room. Problem is...I don't know where it is." I pleaded with him with my eyes. Hey, I may not have had much practice at being a little brother, but I rock at the pitiful act!  
  
Scott fell for it, hook, line and sinker. "Yeah, I think I can show you. Jean and I were just finishing our training session, anyway."  
  
Jean looked carefully at me. "Alex, is there anything going on?"  
  
Block her! "Nope. Just lost." Burning sheep!  
  
She raised her eyebrow. "Alex, are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine." One falls off the cliff: baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- splat! I left with Scott, leaving Jean thoroughly confused. That's even more fun than bugging her long-distance!  
  
Scott led me to this long hallway that stretched out to either side. He pointed down the left way and said, "That's the way to the girls' dorm. I suggest you don't go there upon penalty of death." He must be joking. But, then again, this is Scott. Scott does not joke. "This way," he pointed right, "is our dorms."  
  
Scott made a 'follow me' motion, and headed to the end of the hallway. He opened the last door and pointed me inside. "When we rebuilt, I made sure there was an extra room at either end of the hall. Kind of figured that someone might show up." Well, I really don't know what to say! You like me! You really like me!  
  
I walked into my room, and I realized that Scott hadn't planned this room for anyone but me.  
  
The boards Lorna and I had been using were hanging on my wall by way of a very cool bracket-and-bungee system. My clothes were all supposedly in my drawers, and the bedcover had aloha print.  
  
Scott has some explaining to do. "Bro, how long did you have this ready for me?"  
  
He tried to look innocent, as he said, "Not very. Why do you ask?"  
  
I pointed at the south-facing window with sun streaming through. "Maximum sunlight takes planning."  
  
Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I have been planning this for...um...since I found you."  
  
Uh... wow. "And Lorna?"  
  
"Not so much." He shrugged. "We didn't know she was going to come until about...three minutes before. But she does have some... unique stuff."  
  
Hmmm. Okay, that sounds intriguing. "Like what?"  
  
Scott shrugged again. "Dunno. I think Rogue helped her get settled in. If you want to find out, I guess you'll have to ask Rogue."  
  
Or not. I think I'll go find Lorna's room! Who's smart? You know it! "Okay. I'm going to check out my room. Aloha, bro."  
  
Scott backed his way out of the room, like he was leaving a hallucination. I guess he didn't realize that I'm here to stay. For a while, anyway. Well, when I was sure that he had left the hallway, I ran down to the other end, otherwise known as 'no-man-land'. Ha! I crack myself up.  
  
I knocked on each door, figuring that Lorna may not be situated at the end of the hall like me. About three doors in, I found someone.  
  
"Knock knock," said my knuckles on the door.  
  
"What is it?" Well, it doesn't sound like Lorna, but maybe I could get her to help me out.  
  
"Uh, sorry. I'm looking for Lorna. You seen her?"  
  
This goth steps out of the room. It took all I could not to yelp. I did jump just a little. I know, I've seen her before, but Rogue always looks like she puts too much work into being the ultimate freak in a house of loonies. "Yeah, Alex. Ah helped her to her room. End o' the hall, this side."  
  
"Thanks, Rogue." Well, she looks like she's going to kill me, but at least she's helpful. I'm going to follow the scary people's advice from now on. It works.  
  
I headed towards the end of the hall and checked it out. Lorna was in there, with the door open. I figured I should knock on the doorjamb.  
  
"Klunk klunk," said the doorjamb. I never realized how different knocks sound. It's so...different!  
  
"Yeah?" Score! It's Lorna! She looked out her door and waved me in. "Come on in, before Jean finds you."  
  
I entered her room, and looked around. I kept up the conversation on the surface of my brain. "Why would Jean mind?" Her room was pretty boring, with white everywhere. The only unusual thing in the room was a big instrument case on the bed. Looked like it was for some sort of horn. Some sort of big horn.  
  
"Dunno. The whole 'guy in girl's room' thing, I guess." She opened the closet door, and clothes had magically appeared inside. The colors were mostly blue and green. Hey, go with what works. "Huh. It's all here. Wonder how long it'd take to pack again..."  
  
Huh. It's got this sticker on the side with "The Starving Musician" on it. Cool picture... Wait, what did she say? Packing? "Why would you want to do that?"  
  
"I'm not going to stay any longer than I have to. I have a life in Oregon, and I'm only here because of Magneto." She looked up from her feet at me. I guess she was waiting for me to do something, so I nodded. Makes sense. "I'm only going to stay as long as it takes to get this guy off of my back. After that, I'm leaving."  
  
Well, that makes sense. I mean, she really didn't have a choice about coming here. Come to think of it, I really don't plan on staying any longer than she does. "Well, after you leave, I've gotta get back to the surf. I'm missing out on a lot."  
  
Lorna stared at me as if I'd grown an extra eye. I guess she hadn't realized that the only reason I was still here was to make sure Magneto doesn't make another appearance. Huh. I guess it's time to change the subject before she kicks me out of the room on the grounds of uncomfortable subject.  
  
She caught me looking at her horn case. "Oh, I see you've met my travel ticket, Larry." She opened the case and put together a shiny trombone. She closed the case again, so that the other side was up. The sticker on the side said, "Play an Accordion, Go to Jail: It's the Law!"  
  
So, it looks like she already has a guy in her life. Tall, shiny, and kept in perfect condition. Fine. Larry can have her. I just want to know one thing.  
  
"Larry?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm one of the three kids playing trombone in our band, and we all named our trombones after the Three Stooges. Amy's idea, really. Hers is Moe."  
  
I bet I know where this is going... "And the last one is..." I threw in a drum roll, figuring that it couldn't hurt. Of course, it didn't really come off as a drum roll with me just saying "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- da..."  
  
"Uh... You want me to say the name, don't you?" I just nodded and kept up the drum roll, tapping my index fingers on my knees. She laughed and gave up the name. "Shemp."  
  
Whoa! "Shemp?" I was expecting 'big and bald with completely strange name'.  
  
"Shemp." She slid the sliding thingy a couple of times. "Jake sold Curly. The poor thing never stood a chance. So, Shemp is here to stay."  
  
Maybe I could get her to play Larry. She's already holding it, and it looks like she's itching to make some noise... I mean, she did haul...him...all the way to Hawaii, Oregon, and New York. Huh. The more I think about it being "Larry", the more "it" is a "him".  
  
"What songs do you know?"  
  
She didn't tell me. She just started playing Larry, and let him do the talking. After just three notes, I knew what she was playing. I joined in right away.  
  
"Pearly shells,/ From the ocean./ Shining in the sun/ Covering the shore./ When I see them/ My heart tells me that I love you/ More than all the little pearly shells."  
  
Well, I cracked on the last two lines, but otherwise, I guess my voice was passable. Passable enough that I got this great idea...  
  
"Be right back!" I ran all the way down the hall to my room, and grabbed another remnant of Hawaii. I sprinted back, and showed her my find. Her face lit up immediately as she realized what I wanted to do.  
  
"Entryway?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's perfect."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, we were serenading anyone who passed by with whatever song we could come up with. I strummed my ukulele, and Lorna played the melody on Larry. We were on our third rendition of "Tiny Bubbles" when Logan and the Professor passed by. I would say walked, but Logan stalked, and Xavier rolled, so it really wouldn't cover how they moved.  
  
Logan gave us an evil look, and I surprised myself by grinning at him and singing loudly. Maybe I'm not as scared of him as I thought I was. Of course, he wasn't doing anything to me. Yet.  
  
Professor Xavier produced a couple of coins from his pocket and tossed them into Larry's case. "Thanks. Larry sounds great. Alex, you may want giving your ukulele a name too."  
  
A name? I can only think of one. "It's got one. Don Ho." Yes, Hawaii's hero. The one and only.  
  
Xavier smirked, and moved on. Logan rubbed his knuckles and I swallowed convulsively. Well, maybe I'm just a little bit scared.  
  
As he stalked away, Lorna blew a "Braaaaat!" on Larry. Did I mention I admired her for her bravery? 'Cause I do.  
  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~  
  
A/N: Yeah, here I am again. Once again, I interpreted the names in this chapter. I completely agree with Xavier, but I think only Jean and Scott would agree with Jean's name. I love thinking of Scott as "tattooed", now. And who knew that a trombone could have such a cool name?  
  
Piers: Thank you so much for reading this. Your opinion of my writing really means so much to me. I love you.  
  
Flyby Stardancer: Yes, uber-cuteness. I hope you like the stuff in here, and please, *eep* I've written! Let go of my leg! Leggo!  
  
Suzaka: Yes, I have kept writing. Enjoy your sugar high, and hope you enjoyed. I'll keep writing more.  
  
d: Yup. Thanks. I have.  
  
Jean: A Scotch form of Jane/ Jane: "God's gracious gift" (Hebrew). The usual feminine for John; but actually a contraction of Johanna.  
  
Scott: "a Scot, or Scotsman." The Scots were an Irish tribe who later settled Scotland. Their name probably means "tattooed," because they cut and painted their bodies; but is also interpreted as "the wanderers".  
  
Rogue: (had to go to the dictionary) 1. An unprincipled person: scoundrel. 2. A playfully mischievous person: scamp  
  
Logan: none (he's just that cool)  
  
Larry: Short for Lawrence/ Lawrence: "The laurel" (Latin). Sacred to the Greek god Apollo, the laurel was supposed to inspire prophecy and poetry; and, as the winners in ancient games were crowned with laurel wreaths, it became also the symbol of victory  
  
Charles: Literally the name means "man" (Teutonic); but, as borne by many kings and emperors, it took on a significance of greatness. Legend says that its most famous bearer, Charlemagne, was so called because when his nurse presented him to his mother she exclaimed, "What a great carle (man)!"  
  
Xavier: "Brilliant" (Arabic). The name usually commemorates St. Francis Xavier. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Well, let's see... What do I own? Not much. I certainly don't own anything remotely connected to X-men, including but not limited to X-men: Evolution, and non-original characters. I don't own Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, or the city itself. Well, really, no one owns a city...I think. I don't own _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_, though I'd like to thank Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos for bringing the best chick flick I've seen to the big screen. I also don't own Christmas (I don't know if anyone does) or the saying from "Bone"(the comic): "stupid, stupid rat creatures" which I warped just a tiny bit. What I do own is an amazing new laptop and this shiny new HS diploma!  
  
Lorna  
  
Man, I'm tired. And its not because I cant handle a late-night jam session. Believe me, I do those all the time, especially when I want out of a home ASAP. Strange thing is, that's the furthest thing from my mind. It's great here. I'm onto my third day, and I've finally started to get used to the time zone here.  
  
"Lorna?"  
  
Everyone here is really nice, too. Even the preppy girls, like Jean. She's so perfect that everyone just wants to write her off as a snob, but she acts way too nice for anyone to actually find fault with her, much less hate her.  
  
"Lorna, are you listening?"  
  
And Alex seems to be doing well. He's acting exactly like a younger brother to Scott. What with the annoying habits, the jokes, and completely different attitude on life, a lot of people might not think they like being related. But there are some times when Alex looks at Scott with the most amazing hero worship on his face and in his voice...  
  
"Polaris!"  
  
"Yes?" Storm gives me a somewhat stern look with her eerie ice-blue eyes and continued with her lecture.  
  
"Now, you've already used your powers to bend scrap metal, very well, might I add," said Ms. Munroe as she glances around the field that I filled yesterday with abstract iron sculptures. That was fun, and I got to do a little art on the side.  
  
"And, you seem to have mastered the art o f fine manipulation of steel." Well. That's an understatement. I've been playing with paper clips since my powers started.  
  
"Let's try something new." About time! Some gentle breezes gather underneath Storm, lifting her up. She looks *right* in the air, as if that's where she had been created. I bet this is why she's the one training me. She can fly!  
  
"Magneto is able to manipulate the very magnetic fields in the Earth..."  
  
I can see where this is going. I open up to the magnetic web that is always present around me, and test out various waves.  
  
"...Xavier felt that you may be able to..."  
  
Nope, that's intercepted by the dish. That one runs up against Wolverine, better not use it. No telling what could happen.  
  
"...Rogue has told me how she used Magneto's powers..."  
  
There! Nice and sturdy, and it's very willing to give me a ride.  
  
"...First you reach into the core of the Earth..."  
  
My chosen wave bends towards the ground, just enough for me to step comfortably on. Once both of my feet are firmly supported, the wave slowly bends out to its convex shape again, taking me about twenty feet up.  
  
"Storm, I'm up."  
  
Her face registers genuine surprise as she wafts towards me. "I see. Your powers are progressing at a marvelous rate!"  
  
"I have a strong motivation." I sway back and forth, testing the compliance of the wave. This one seems to be perfect for gliding.  
  
"What may that be?"  
  
"Self-preservation."  
  
Ms. Munroe, excellent woman though she is, had to muddle through that murky hint by herself. "Self-preservation against Magneto?"  
  
I nod. "Is class over for the day?"  
  
"Yes. You probably should be getting ready for school. Tomorrow's Monday, and both you and Alex have been enrolled in Bayville."  
  
Oh joy. I glide down towards the mansion, and stop short when two uniformed Scotts come out of the building. Wait. One has blond hair. Don't tell me that Alex is already wearing Scott's hand-me-downs! I have got to see this up close! The wave lowers me to the ground, and I land just behind the two. Alex seemed to be as enthralled by his outfit as I as.  
  
"Come on, Scott, I feel more exposed than when I even wear my baggies."  
  
"Alex, you look great." Scott turns his head to me, and I guess he saw me out of the corner of his eye. How can you tell what he's looking at through those glasses? "Hi, Lorna. Tell him how he looks."  
  
Alex turns to me and I study his costume. Great big X on the front, okay. Everywhere else is black. However, the best part of the set-up is the little pair of hooks over the ears where Scott normally connects his visor. Alex, not being gifted with a death glare, left them to flap on the sides of his head. "Well, it looks like you should strap on some flippers and go scuba diving."  
  
Scott has a kind of indignant look on his face as Alex starts pounding on his shoulder. "I told you!"  
  
Scott managed to avoid a stronger beating with very inventive contortions and the line, "Alex! Alex-come on! Ow! We only have an hour n the outdoor- ergh -course before Logan- ow -tears it up! Ah! Stopit!"  
  
Alex gave him one more punch and fell back, letting Scott lead the way. We all keep walking toward the area where I saw all those flashes of light a few days ago. I'd asked around, and apparently, that's the outdoor training course. Cool.  
  
"So," Alex said, "You really think I look that bad?"  
  
"No! No-no-no-no-no." Bad-looking is one thing you're not. "I just think that wet-suit's more suited to surfing in Santa Cruz than Waikiki." I hope he'll get the reference. Surfing magazines must talk about the freezing water in Northern California. Heck, the water's so cold up near where I live that a tip to the beach is suicide. You could get hypothermia. No, really. Okay, all of you still laughing are officially dared to take a swim in San Francisco Bay. If the cold doesn't get ya, the undertow will.  
  
"Yeah? Do they have shark attacks in Santa Cruz? 'Cause one tore my suit right here." He points at his knee, which has an enormous patch covering up a hole.  
  
"Nah, don't think any man-eaters head down there." What follows is what we in the biz like to call an "uncomfortable silence".  
  
"It's happened to me, you know."  
  
"What, going to Santa Cruz? I hear their boardwalk is pretty cool."  
  
"No. Shark attack. About a year ago, I was out surfing, and all of a sudden, there's this Great White Shark!" I guess he saw my disbelieving look, because he continued the story. Or maybe he didn't see the look. "I was scared out of my wits, I couldn't escape! Finally, I do the last thing I probably would ever do in my life I hold my hands out, like this," he says as he demonstrates, "and all of a sudden, WHAM! No more shark. The first thing I did with my power was save my own life."  
  
Wow. My magnetism didn't show up in a sudden moment. I just gradually became aware of a living web of magnetism all over the place. I can't even remember any specific point when I wasn't aware of it. Only possible change that happened was when I hit puberty, the web started to listen to me. "Well, I didn't start out quite so exciting. When I was thirteen, refrigerator magnets started to stick to me."  
  
Alex chuckles a little, which is far more than I deserved for that stupid little quip. That's about as far as our conversation got that day, because Scott immediately announces that we are here, and it's time to get to business. In order to get out of the way, I ride an obliging wave up to a tree branch well away from the line of fire. Although, I'm betting Scott could still see me, and Alex's hands are right in my line of view, I figure that most mutants are walking arsenals anyway, so I'd probably be in more danger on the streets.  
  
The two boys begin target practice on a machine that sends up clay things into the air at random times. Scott may have hit more targets, but I can't tell. Alex is phenomenal. He looks like he's so in charge of his own powers. Though, some of that bravado may come from having an audience. Hm... Anyway, I'm enjoying the show, when Jean sticks her head out of the window and calls, "Lorna! Come in here! We're in the rec room!"  
  
Aww! Not now! "I'm busy. Why do you want me?" They'd better have a good reason. I'm pretty happy right here. The view is great.  
  
Jean hollers back trough the window, "You've got to be prepared for school tomorrow!"  
  
Alex pauses in his barrage, and both he and I whine, "School?" Well, that gets me up and going, I suppose. I rise from the tree and start to ride a wave to the rec room window.  
  
As I'm on my way up, I hover a bit; not really wanting to leave Alex to Scott's devices. I hear him say, fairly loudly, "That sucks." Then, he added something else a bit softer. I only hear a little bit of it, so I silently ask the wave of magnetism to lower me just a bit. I do so quickly enough to hear the tail end of his comment. "-and Jean start dating?"  
  
Scott replies, "Well, we never completely went on any dates... Why do you ask?" Alex squirms a little. Huh... That's odd. "Do you want advice on something?"  
  
Wait, how does that add up? So Alex asked how Scott started to date Jean. What does that have to do with any advice that Scott can give him? Even weirder is that Alex can't stop stammering. I probably would have stuck around, but Jean called me, mentally this time.  
  
I fly in through the window that she had left open. I had expected to see Jean waiting with a book bag, and a whole lot of unwanted advice. Instead, the room is filled with all of the girls, and a projection screen TV showing _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_. I think I'm missing something, here.  
  
"Hi, I think I've been paged?" At the chorus of greetings, I figure I had guessed right. "Wasn't I supposed to be getting ready for school?  
  
Kitty looks up from her spot on the floor. "You are! We're not going to let you go to Bayville without knowing any of the gossip." Aww...that's sweet in a strange "I really don't want to know" way.  
  
I settle down to start to watch the movie. It was on the best part, in my opinion anyway. The first date. We all sit around for a bit, then Rahne sighs, "I wish someone'd do that fer me."  
  
Amara, who's sitting with a ramrod straight back next to Rahne on the floor says, "What, take you out to dinner?"  
  
"No, that." Rahne points at the screen, where Tulla and Ian were standing on the bridge after dinner. "Accept me no matter what."  
  
All of us fall silent for a little bit, just imagining being accepted by a non-mutant family with 2.5 children, a random dog, and parents. Especially parents. Over the short time I've been here, it seems that even more of us than I had first thought are orphans, or worse, disowned by their own families.  
  
In fact, the only two people who I am absolutely sure had normal childhoods are Jean and Kitty.  
  
Speaking of which, maybe I can get more out of Jean than Scott. Okay, so I didn't really ever ask Scott anything, but what I overheard just didn't cut it. I open my mouth to ask, but Jubilee beats me to the punch.  
  
"Hey, Jean, what's it like to date a guy who'd go through anything just so you're happy?"  
  
Jean blushes prettily. "Well, Duncan really didn't ever ask if I was happy."  
  
Jubilee rolls her eyes so largely that I thought her eyes were going to start facing backwards in her own head. Oddly enough, they didn't. "No! Duh! I meant Scott! You two are going out, right?"  
  
Jean seems taken aback by the question. "Well, yeah. I should think so..."  
  
Maybe this is my chance! I could ask her how she started to date without anyone getting suspicious! Boy, I'm devious. Next, I'll be twirling my mustache and laughing evilly. "Uh, J-jean? Could you, you know, if you can... W-what I mean to say is, how did the two of you start that? Dating, I mean." That could have gone better.  
  
Thankfully, Jean really didn't pick up on anything. "Well, Lorna, we never actually started dating. Um, there was that one time in Mexico, but...I don't know if Scott would be comfortable with me telling anything." She keeps talking about Mexico and how he scared her, or something like that. I don't really pay attention. Scott and Alex are passing by on their way back from training. Scott looks like he's drenched in sweat, and his hair's plastered to his head.  
  
Alex, on the other hand, looks great. This sheen covers his face, and it practically glows. Maybe it's glowing from exhaustion, but he looks almost exactly the same way as he did when I first saw him come in from surfing. Tired, but having the time of his life.  
  
"Why did you ask, Lorna?" What? Oh. Uh... I'm not going to tell the truth, of course!  
  
"Ah- Uh, curiosisity. I mean, curiosity." I laughed nervously. Alex must be watching my every move. I know he's not in view, but I'm paranoid right now! "Oops. I always do that. You know, I say bananana a lot. I just can't stop!" Tell me about it. Why can't I just shut up? "Yup. I also say specicicific sometimes." Stop it!  
  
"I know!" shouts someone in the back. I'm too flustered to think who it could be. "Alex!"  
  
There's a thump next to the doorjamb. So he was listening. Great. Absolutely spiffy. I feel the heat rising to my face and duck. It's bad enough that I blush at every little embarrassment, but when I do, I look like a Christmas card. Stupid stupid mutant hair.  
  
Worst of all, when I finally do look up, there's Alex in the doorway. He has this dumbstruck look on his face, a perfect mirror to my own, I bet. I guess he's figured something out by now. He doesn't do anything, just turns around and starts to leave for his room.  
  
I can't just take that lying down! "Wait!" I run out of the room full of completely astonished girls.  
  
~(^)~  
  
A/N: Wow. Finally updated, huh? By now, I'd bet all of you have given up on me and my lovely procrastination mutant powers. But, I hope this somehow makes up for everything I've put you guys through. The next chapter will have even more mushiness, and maybe Mags will finally pop up. This, well, this chapter seems to be fairly transitional. The next won't be. I promise.  
  
And here, for your discerning pleasure, the name game!  
  
Ororo: Okay, not in the trusty book.  
  
Amara: Either "unfading" (Greek); or from Amara, a paradise in Abyssinian legend.  
  
Jubilation (Jubilee's real name!): 1. Exultation. 2. A happy celebration. (dictionary)  
  
Kitty: diminutive form of Katherine: "Pure" (Greek). Originally spelled with a "K" as in the Greek, these names are also used as Catherine because there was no "K" in the Anglo-Saxon alphabet and "C" was substituted. 


	7. Chapter 7Here ya go, Nite!

Disclaimer:  I don't own X-men: Evolution.  Never have, and most likely, never will.  I sure as heck don't own the new blockbuster movie _Pirates of the Caribbean_.  Bleagh.  And, really, I don't even own the plot.  I had written myself into a corner, and my boyfriend rescued me with this incredibly clichéd and beautiful chapter.  Thank you.  I love you, honey.

Alex

I guess I'm in shock.  That must be the only reason why I actually stopped when Lorna called.  The rational side of me, what I call "Scott", was screaming at me to run.  If I don't get out now, I know the undertow of all these whacked out emotions will drag me down.

But I stop.  Scott, and my brain with him, is turning the corner out of sight.  I'm all on my own now.  All on my own...  On...my...own.  Help!

"Alex," Lorna puffs, breathing hard.  Her face looks sort of red, maybe from running, maybe from emotion.  "I think I said something wrong.  I just..." She looks kind of confused.  Guess I can't blame her.  "I just don't know what it is."

"Honestly?  Me neither."  How come they never cover this sort of conversation in seventh grade?  They tell us all about our "changing bodies", but nothing about talking to girls.  "Um."  How did we get to this point?  Well, there was her running out of the door, me walking by...  really, I don't think either of us would have been on this side of the coast if I hadn't taught her surfing.  But why had she gone along with me to begin with?  "Lorna, want to see a movie with me?"  Why did I say that?  What in the world led to that?  I am so stupid.  Well, I guess it's better than nothing.

She has this completely unreadable look on her face.  That's something else I want to do.  I want to be able to know what girls are thinking.  Especially what Lorna's thinking.  "Uh, sure."  Then, she says something to herself, "I've already got the who, so what, when, where, why, how?"

Whoa!  All those questions...the horror!  Okay, here we go.  "What: um, ­_Pirates of the Caribbean_?"  When she nodded a little, I went on.  "When: I'll...get back to you on that.  Where: the closest movie theater, why: I... I'll get back to you on that, too.  And how: I guess Scott can drive us.  Did I answer them all?"  She nodded again, I guess a little dumbstruck.

"Well, um, I'll see you," Lorna says over her shoulders as she practically runs to her room, probably to get her backpack set for school.  I head to my own room, a little happier.  Well, at least I had asked her out, right?  That's what I'd been asking Scott about, and I got it done.

But this doesn't feel like it should.  I didn't get any of my questions solved, much less asked.  At least I'm going to my room.  I can think better there.  Well, and I can get my backpack packed, too.

I get into my room and dig out my backpack from under all of my clothes.  I hadn't quite gotten everything put into all my drawers, and some of the clothes still had sand in the pockets.  Seeing as my backpack is just one big pocket, I've got to clean it out before I fill it up.

I'm still dumping half of Oahu's sand onto the floor in my room, guaranteeing a fun time for the next clean-up crew, when I look out of my wide-open window.  Just the usual early-afternoon sight, Bobby making snowmen and Sam crashing into stuff.  Yeah, there's just something about guys that makes them more fun, more outdoorsy, heck, more destructive!  Just compare them to all of the girls holed up inside watching chick flicks.

But there's one more person in the front yard today.  What's Lorna doing, going out the front gate?  Yeah, I'd say that's exactly what she's doing.  I don't have enough time to call anyone.  I really don't have any reason, either.  She just looks so distracted as she's walking through that gate.

I toss my backpack aside and jump out of my window, ruining the screen as I go.  Bill me later.  I'm running on hormones, here.  You're wondering why, right?  Well, to be honest, so am I.

Point is, I don't know where she could go on foot.  This place is out in the boonies, which is great for security, but lousy for teenagers with no transportation.  So, put all this together, and now, well, I just have to know if she's okay.  That's all there is to it.

Every so often, she stops and cocks her head, like she's listening for something.  It's kind of weird.  I can't hear anything.

She moves out of view for just a minute, until I can catch up with her.  When I do, I realize what she had been doing.  She wasn't listening.  I think she was feeling the pull of one enormous magnet.

She had found Magneto.

Well, Magneto and about five or six guys.  Both Lorna and I are staked out in different areas, but Magneto turns immediately towards her hiding place and said, "Come out, child.  I can feel your effect on magnetism just as you can feel mine."  Lorna floats out on about a foot of air, I guess figuring that stealth was useless now.

One of Magneto's lackeys, a small, fairly old guy turns and looks straight at me.  Oh sh-...  "Magneto," he mutters.  "I must tell you-"

Magneto silences him with a wave of his hand.  Thank you, ignorant leader!  "I'm glad that you saw how much more I could teach you.  Charles can teach you nothing when he doesn't understand your potential for great power.  Welcome, my heir."

The guy standing off to the side runs at an incredible speed to face Magneto.  Is it possible to actually run at the speed of light?  How about at the speed of sound?  Oh yeah, I remember him.  Quicksilver.  "Your HEIR?  But I'm your own son!  That freak didn't do anything for you!"

"She will."  Magneto leered at her from under his helmet.

Lorna glares at the impressive figure in front of her.  "You self-righteous bastard.  You presume too much to think that I will ever work for you."

Magneto smirks a little bit.  What's he up to?  "I'd wished it wouldn't come to this."  Without warning, Lorna is thrown backwards into a nearby tree and Magneto orders, "Whatever you do, don't kill her."

His lackeys all stand there, in as much shock as I am.  But Quicksilver rushes forward (as if he can do anything else) and suddenly, Lorna's covered with bruises and recoiling from the intense blows he's dealing her. That's enough!  I've got one good shot before Magneto realizes I'm here.

I power up halfway, just in case I have to keep defending myself.  Without thinking more, I blast Magneto directly in his side.  It's worked before.

Well, it doesn't work quite as well now.  Quicksilver stops for a moment, and I seize the opportunity to run to Lorna.  She's passed out.  I hope.

"Please be alive.  Please don't die.  Come on," I find myself muttering as I check for a pulse.  There!  It's slow, but it's there.

I get this feeling that someone's behind me, and I really don't want to know who.  I turn around anyway and see four leering faces in front of me.  Worst part is, I only know one of 'em, Quicksilver.  I mutter to Lorna, "It's okay, I'm here," and move so my body is between her and them.

The one with the black eyes holds up a playing card for just a moment, before throwing it at me.  It hurts, but I don't care about my own body right now.  Lorna's more important.  I check her again.  It's a miracle that she's survived to this point, and is still alive.  "You could have killed her!"  I scream, as I blast him full in the chest.

Magneto echoes me, and adds, "Don't hurt the girl!  Gambit- I did not expect to have to tell you that!"

I'll file his name away for later.  Right now, I'm too busy blasting anyone who comes anywhere close to Lorna.  Sure, they're taking their potshots at me, and I'm bleeding because of them.  But I can ignore a few bruises, gashes, and gaping holes for now.  Problem is...these blasts.  They take so much...energy.  If I could just get into the sun for a few minutes...  But that metal guy...he's standing right...over me.

One more blast might move him...but it'd also knock me out.  I wouldn't be any use to Lorna if I was out cold.

I reach my foot out feebly and try to trip him up as he peels me off of Lorna.  In the corner of my eye, a pile of large silver eggs gleam.  That's what he wanted to take her away in before!  No!  They won't ever take her.  Not as long as I have...strength...

I summon up the last vestiges of energy in my body for one more blast.  I know that she'll be left defenseless, but maybe I can buy her a few more seconds to wake up.

What happens next seems like a slow-motion scene in a movie.  My hands are glowing and filled with energy that I'm going to force away from my body.  It doesn't happen, though, because a bright red beam lances by and knocks him away.

The energy I had forced to my hands gladly spreads itself through my body, while more energy flows in directly from the sun.  I feel someone's hands drag me out of the way, and lay me flat on my back.  Looking to my side, I see that Jubilee is laying Lorna flat too.

"How-?"  I croak.  

Jean, still arranging me into a safer position, replies, "Lorna called the Professor when she was sure it was Magneto."  She pauses for a minute, and in that relative silence, I hear Lorna groan.  She's awake!  "I only wish we could have gotten here sooner."

Around us, the battle is starting to build.  Debris falls toward us every so often, but it either gets blasted away or falls on an invisible dome above our heads.  Both Jubilee and Jean had stayed to protect us while we were recovering.

I keep seeing flashes of different battles going on around me.  To one side, Logan and Sabertooth are attacking each other, dodging blows and duking it out for all they're worth.  I guess Wolverine does have an equal when it comes to fighting.  I mean, I must be delirious, because I could swear he was smiling.  And I though he was sort of weird before.  Don't tell him I thought that, Jean.

iOkay./i

Is she listening in to what I say?  Oh, never mind.

Then, to another side, there's Bobby fighting off a crazy kid with flaming orange hair.  This kid makes fire act...very orderly, for fire.  But, either way, he's taking everything Bobby could give him by melting the icicles hurled at him, and Bobby is freezing any fire coming near him.  That fight can probably go on as long as the kid had fuel.

I black out for an instant and open my eyes to Rogue dodging little blasts.  It's that black-eyed guy!  Those cards don't seem to be putting out the same type of blast that he used on me.  Either way, Rogue seems to have that patented death glare in her eye, and starts to tug at the fingers of her glove.  She rushes at Gambit, and he runs off into some nearby cover.

Good for you, Rogue.  Beat that jerk to a pulp.  He deserves it for what almost happened to Lorna.

The sun is starting to take over, slowly replenishing all my energy reserves.  I bet Roberto would get a kick out of that.  The sun not only fuels my blasts, but it kind of helps me heal, too.  It doesn't do anything about the blood or bruises, though.  Jean did a good job tying up the gashes, but the pain they cause...  It's the only thing really keeping me awake.

There's that sun blocker, the metal guy.  I wish I knew names.  You'd think people would brief us on this!  He seems to have his hands full, trying to catch Kitty and Kurt, who are phasing through him and teleporting wherever they can be the most annoying.  Doesn't look like they're actually hurting him.  Damn.

Scott is standing next to Xavier, acting as his protector.  He's just blasting left and right, making sure the Professor isn't touched by all of the crossfire.  Where's Magneto?  I scan the busy battlefield.

There he is, standing behind all of the different battles, with Quicksilver right beside him.  I gauge their distance and the amount of force needed, and immediately strike them in the most strategic area.

Or I would, if I could move my pinkie.  Either of 'em.  Instead, Scott shoots his red eye-lasers at Magneto and knocks the man's helmet off, showing a man who looks almost exactly like how Quicksilver will when he's older.  I guess Xavier had told him to do this, because the old man suddenly seems like someone you wouldn't want to mess with on your worst day.  Not really the benevolent father-type.

Magneto clutches at his head, screaming wordlessly.  His lackeys begin to move to him, partly to assist, and partly because they have to.  Xavier can do a lot if the mood strikes him.  I hope it never strikes him around me.

  
Magneto and his acolytes back off, into those crazy looking silver ball things.  As he seats himself in the largest one, he looks directly at Lorna and announces, "I'll be back for you, child.  I do not desert my own."  That bastard!

I guess Xavier shares my opinion, because he mutters cryptically, "Is that so, Erik?"

There's a lot about him that I guess I don't know.  But, maybe... I can wait to find out.  Lorna's moves over on her elbows to face me.  "You risked your life for me."

My brain's all fuzzy, but I don't really think that's an excuse for what I say next.  "Yeah.  Go out with me?"  Then, I black out.

What the hell happened?  Oh, wait.  I remember.  So why am I in the med bay?  And why is Lorna waiting by me?  How long have I been out?

"Lorna?"  I croak.  Man, my voice sounds like a tractor running out of gas.  Whatever that means...

"Alex!"  She leans over me, and I can smell the shampoo in her hair.  Mmm...  Focus!  "What can I do to repay you?"

"Go to the movies with me?"

I didn't know I could make her mad.  But, that's what happens...  "Go to the movies?  My God, Alex!  You just risked your life against MAGNETO, and all you say is 'do you want to go to the movies'?"  She throws her hands in the air.  "You're an idiot!"

"Okay, then, movie, dinner, and I teach you to be a pro surfer."

She pauses for a while, trying to digest what I suggested.  "You're insane."  She pauses again, and I'm pretty sure she is going to say something like, "forget you".  "And I think that's why I love you."

I can't think!  I can't think!  What do I say?  "I love you, too."  That'll work.

~(^)~

Okay, as a bit of amazing trivia, I am a complete Disney freak.  And it doesn't hurt that I go to the Disney theme parks on an average of once every 1.3 years.  Now, I must protest this little phenomenon I call E-ticket B-movies.  That is, turning the best Disneyland rides into awful movies.  Yes, Pirates looks good.  Yes, go see it.  I own Disney stock.  That's good for my pocketbook.  However, remember Country Bears?  Yuck.  The next E-ticket B-movie is the Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy.  Yes.  The star of Pluto Nash and Daddy Day Care.  I'd just like to ask you a favor.  Pretend to be as disgusted as I am.  Now, if they continue on this road, no one will have to pretend.  I predict the next E-ticket B-movie to be "It's a Small World".  For two hours.  Think about it.  Scary, neh?

My rant is done; I thank you all.  Sorry for that.  Just getting on my nerves, that's all.

Flyby: Nite, you gotta admit though, "You like pain? Try wearing a corset," is a good line. :P :) 

Nite: Yes it is.  And no one is going to let me live this down: I saw Pirates, and it was very good.  *cowers*  I still fear for my sanity.  They're making another Freaky Friday!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I really don't own X-men: Evolution, but maybe if I say that enough times, Marvel will take pity on me and maybe make me a stockholder, or something. I also don't own VW Beetles, SUV's, sedans, or even Hot Rod. (That last one belongs to Hasbro and their Transformers franchise. But that's a whole other fic.) I don't own The Club (copyrighted by some insanely intelligent inventor), Vanna White (duh), Ray-Ban, the Three Stooges, Batman, or Pop-Tarts. Oh, and Spam musubi actually exists! I've had some, and it tastes oh so yummy!  
  
And on a completely random note, I actually saw someone who looks exactly as I picture Lorna, minus the green eyes the other day. I figure it's someone up there saying "Get a move on!"  
  
Here's to you, someone up there...  
  
Lorna  
  
I think I've found a little piece of heaven, right here, in this moment. Riding in a convertible with the top down, and my hair blowing crazily. I don't care; I've got a brush in my pocket. And I'm sitting in the backseat next to the guy I love. We can't do anything because his brother is driving the car, but this is enough. The crazy terrorist who is deluded enough to think that I'm his heir is temporarily off my back. And, to top it all off, I've got my forearm resting on the side of the car, with my hand cupped just enough to move up and down with the airflow. That's the greatest thing to do in a car. If I concentrate just a little bit, I can imagine we're going to the beach instead of school.  
  
But, really, I can't concentrate too hard on the beach when Scott pulls into the school parking lot. After jockeying for a prime parking spot against the various Beetles, SUVs, sedans, and hot rods, both Scott and Jean hop out of the car without bothering to even open the door. It must be exhausting, trying to look cool like that...  
  
Alex wrestles with the fold-down chair in front of him, and I finally give the metal frame inside a little nudge to help it decide to let us out. I'll risk using my powers in order to show up at school on time.  
  
Scott and Jean are walking away from the car by now. That doesn't make sense. Better ask about this. "Hey, Jean?"  
  
"Yes, Lorna?"  
  
I pointed at the car. "Are you just going to leave the top down? You're not even going to put The Club© on the wheel?"  
  
Both Scott and Jean turned to me as if I had just asked the stupidest question in the book. "Why would we do that?"  
  
That car is just screaming "steal me", that's why! "Well, don't you have any anti-theft stuff?"  
  
Scott shrugged. "I never thought about that. Jean, you could um...think something around it, couldn't you?"  
  
I just know that girl's not dating him for his conversational skills... "Um, sure, Scott. I don't see why not." ~I don't see why, either,~ she thought to me. Wait, she's thinking TO me?! Something to block her! Flaming sheep!  
  
For some reason, Jean looks at me like I'm crazy. Actually, I doubt that she's all that far off on that one. She starts to escape, and then turns back around. "Look, I've got to get to my locker before class starts. You sure I can't help you find your classes, Lorna?"  
  
Like I'd want her to make me her little mini-me. Wait, she's not still reading my mind, is she? Flaming sheep attacking a village! "No. I'll be late to everything anyway. Don't want you late too."  
  
She looks like I just took a big burden off of her shoulders. Well, that and that she thinks I'm completely off my rocker. I wonder how she would've taken it if I'd taken her up on the offer. I'll never know, because she just takes off like a bat out of hell after I say my piece.  
  
Scott's about to take off, too, when he turns around and says to Alex and me, "You know, you're going to be labeled the minute you walk onto campus. You know, like Jean and I are labeled as, um..."  
  
"Jocks?"  
  
"Preppies?"  
  
"Valedictorian?"  
  
Scott scowls a little, but nods. "Yeah, that's exactly right. But I just want to warn you both that BHS students are a bit more stereotyping than any other high school that I've been to."  
  
Alex asks, "So, what about Lorna and me? What'd we be labeled as?"  
  
I speak up before Scott can talk. "Alex, you could be labeled as only one thing! Surfer!"  
  
He smiles at me and asked, "Really? That's a label? It isn't in Oahu." I smile back, but I don't say anything. I figure that doesn't really merit a response.  
  
"And what about me?" So they can judge me to my fullest, I stand in a Vanna White pose: both arms straight out, making a sort of diagonal, with one up, and one down.  
  
Scott studies me, and comes up with, "Well, since your hair is not really considered to be natural color... How about punk?"  
  
Pfft! Young grasshopper not know so much. "Come ON, Mister Ray-Ban! Note the trombone named after a Stooge? Note the classic Batman TV show t- shirt! I am no punk." I smile my best scary-smile. "I am a psychopath."  
  
Now, I don't really mean that, I just hate being labeled as much as the next insane person does. 'Specially if they're wrong labels.  
  
A little guy bounces up and stops dead short of the three of us. He looked too young to really know Scott all too well. "Hi, I'm Lurve! I'm a mutant! Wanna know what my power is?"  
  
Alex put his hand on my shoulder, just in case Lurve's power is dangerous I guess. I dunno. He seems too cute to have a really dangerous power.  
  
Scott mutters, "Don't ask. Just walk away..."  
  
Of course, now that he's said that, I just have to say, "What is your mutant power?"  
  
"I lurve you!" and Lurve bounces away. Just like that. I'm so confused...  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"Your fellow local psychopath."  
  
The rest of the day zooms by faster than I can keep up. This is so stupid. Magneto just had to pick the last quarter of school to attack, didn't he? All of my teachers hate the fact that I haven't done any of their assignments, and I don't know how I'm going to catch up. Thankfully, the professor managed to convince all of them to start me off today with the grade that I had had in each class back in Oregon. So at least I start with an A or a B in each class. Hopefully I'll keep 'em above C for the final month of school.  
  
Well, I'll manage. Maybe Alex and I could help each other. Or I could get some of the other juniors to help me. A lot.  
  
During lunch, I had the hardest time finding a place to sit. I mean, it was hard enough back home, but all of us band geeks basically just sat together. Here, though, I noticed something weird. There were the usual class breakdowns, and my usual type of group was at their little corner of the quad. But there was a group of all types over in this one other corner, which no one would really see if they didn't look for it. All the Xavier kids were there, with the exception of Rogue, who sat a couple of tables over with another Goth girl. All those people with different styles... It's probably pretty obvious to everyone else that there has to be *something* they had in common. I'm about to go sit with the band when I see Alex head towards his brother at the X-men table.  
  
What the hell. I head to the X-men table, too, branding myself a mutant. As I sit down, everyone acknowledges me with a wave.  
  
Alex waves, and says, "So, Robin, decided to join us in our quest for the Riddler?"  
  
I decide to play along. What could it hurt? "Holy mermaids, Batman! Could you have already figured out what his riddles mean?"  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I see all of the others at the table inch their trays of food about two inches away from ours. A few of the younger ones were looking at us like we'd just quoted an ancient dialogue or something. Well, you can't say that these kids have great taste...  
  
I start to dig into my food, but I just know there's something missing. I rummage around in my backpack and pull out a silver pre-packaged set of Pop- Tarts. I open it up, and pull out two tasty toaster pastries. "You want one? It's cherry."  
  
Alex shakes his head and pushes it away. "No way. That sounds almost healthy! Remember what I brought when we were surfing?"  
  
I thought back. "Actually, I was too busy being kidnapped by a terrorist with a God complex to see what flavor Pop-Tart I was eating..."  
  
"Brown sugar and cinnamon." Well, that answers everything. Why didn't I realize that before? The others at the table have all stopped talking together, and stared at us like we were going to jump up on the table and start dancing.  
  
Give me credit here. I'm really not that crazy.  
  
(A/N: Okay, I know... Jab at Nightcrawler... But hey, it's comedy. Sort of.)  
  
I continue the...discussion...with Alex, saying, "But if you eat something that's almost healthy, you won't run out of energy ten minutes into your day."  
  
"Ah, but if I eat something almost healthy, I'd be going against my own morals. It's either healthy or not. Well... except for Spam musubi... that stuff tastes good, and I can't tell what its health factor is..."  
  
"What's... Spam musubi?" Ray looked like he really was afraid to find out, but had to for the good of the team.  
  
"You know what sushi is? Fish and rice wrapped in seaweed?" At the collective nods we all made, he went on. "It's cooked Spam sushi. It's really good."  
  
There were definite mixed reactions to that. Kitty exclaimed, "Eeeeuww! Like, how could you ruin perfectly good sushi like that?"  
  
Sam, however, said somewhat quietly, "Why do that to perfectly good Spam?"  
  
Everyone else just seemed to hate both foods indiscriminately.  
  
After a bit of discussion that basically consisted of everyone complaining about Spam, then just food we don't like in general, the bell rang for classes to start again.  
  
The worst is over; I've only got a little more to go.  
  
If I keep telling myself that, I might just believe it.  
  
I trudge through the rest of the day, skulking in the back of classrooms and being piled with homework and glares. At least the Professor had taken special pains to get me into most of my classes with someone else from the institute. I ended up in the same classes as Kurt and Rogue more often than anyone else. Kitty and I talked a bit, but really... the teachers seemed bent on keeping a sharp eye on me no matter where I was.  
  
After all our classes were over, I caught up with Jean and we made our way to Scott's convertible. Miraculously, it was still there. And it wasn't even keyed. What type of insurance does that boy have?  
  
Alex arrives, on Scott's heels, and Scott and Jean greet each other. Enthusiastically. While Alex and I awkwardly averted our gazes. After they were done, we head back to the institute. Just going back to the place is making me feel sort of safer. But still, I've got so much work to do now, and a bunch of projects that'll be due. I'm going to be snowed for a long time... Especially with a psychopath on my trail.  
  
After Scott pulls up into the driveway, we all pile out of the car and head to our respective destinations. Alex and I both unload our backpacks in the middle of the kitchen table and sit down to piles of assignments. Kurt shows up a little while later and offers some help. We immediately recruit him and his mad math skills, and Kitty helps me with my Physics lab write- up. But even after all that help, I still have a pile of homework.  
  
I tackle it for a while, but finally the whole thing is just too much. Not only am I stuck with mountains of work that seem to be endless, I'm in a new place, with people doing who-knows-what all around me, and I'm staying only because some guy with a God complex is trying to make me his newest disciple, and on top of all this, I have to worry about my grades?  
  
My head falls forward onto the tabletop. I don't like the way my forehead hurts after it hits the wooden tabletop, so of course, I continue to hit my head against the surface. Welcome to the life of the soon-to-be flat- headed Lorna Dane. How spectacular it is.  
  
I turn my head slightly when Alex clears his throat. "What is it?" BANG!  
  
"I just wanted to say..." BANG!  
  
"What?" BANG!  
  
He taps me on the shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" He bolts off, laughing all the way. What the-?  
  
I take off after him. I can't just let him get away with tagging me! He must be tagged back! As I'm running, I skid into random people, hitting random mutants wandering down the hallway. Oops. Well... I'll apologize later.  
  
I let out a little gaspy laugh, and sprint directly between the gap that Jean and Scott leave. I only make two exceptions when I'm running. I avoid collisions with Rogue and Jamie as much as possible. No need to make this difficult for me.  
  
I manage to keep Alex in my line of sight for this entire chase, and see him duck into one of the doors in the hallway. I skid to a stop, and slowly pry open that door. There he is, hiding in a broom closet. Ah well. I tiptoe in, and kiss him on the cheek. "Tag!"  
  
Alex chuckles. "Feeling better?"  
  
"Let me see... I'm sitting in a small, dark room with you, and have to practically sit on top of you in order to fit. Yes. I'm doing much better."  
  
"Good." He places his hand on my cheek and turns my face to his. "You're going to be fine." Then, he kisses me. A real kiss. On the lips.  
  
I'm not going to say how it felt... that's too private. But let's just say, if I thought I found heaven in the convertible this morning, I had only had a glimpse. This time was like there were angels singing "HALLELUJAH!" all around our heads.  
  
The room suddenly lightens. "Oh! Um... I'll... uh... get a broom from somewhere else..."  
  
"Mah gawd! Get a different room!" The room darkens again. Yeah, it's bad here... but not too bad. 


End file.
